New user & new modular - First rig critique

[frozenkore]

Howdy all, I'm new to this forum. I found out about it through a SOS article modular systems and I wanted learn and get some advice. I'm am new to modular synths and have an idea for a system, but I wanted to see what others thought. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Here is what I came up with (6U Eurorack):

Top (from left to right, though I know configuration changes frequently):
Cwejman - VCO-6 (or tiptop z3000, it's cheaper) VCO
Plan B - Model 15 Complex VCO
Livewire - Dalek Modulator
Plan B - Model 24 Heisenberg Generator
2HP Blank
Plan B - Model 31 Buffered Multiples (or 2x Doepfer A-180s w/out 2HP Blank)
Doepfer - A-138 Linear Mixer
Doepfer - 138d Crossfader

Bottom:
The Harvestman - Polivoks VCF
Plan B - Model 11 Evil Twin Band Pass Filter
Doepfer - A-120 Low Pass Filter
Plan B - Model 28 Programmable Tap Clock
Doepfer - A-140 ADSR
Plan B - Model 38 & 38A Elf ADSR & ADSR Expander
Plan B - Model 37 Elf LFO x2
Doepfer A-138 Logarithmic Mixer
Doepfer A-131 Logarithmic VCA

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks again!

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[Antimon]

Hi!

I'm a complete newbie myself (recently received a small stack of Curetronic modules that are awaiting final assembly), so I haven't got that much input, except that you might want to be careful with the Plan B stuff. Plan B are having some troubles, and the ranting I see here and on muff wiggler indicates that they are not very reliable to deliver currently.

That SOS article by Jyoti (I assume that was what brought you here) is great! Jyoti is also a member here, and was a large inspiration for me to go try the modular way.

/Stefan

[EdisonRex]

to electro-music.com frozenkore!

I'd second Antimon's point about Plan B. If you can get them at AH where they are reputed to be available, and if you get delivery, and if they work, then they are very creative and good modules. I haven't bought any Plan B myself, but there are so many other people offering modules that you might want to consider them.

Just curious, why did you choose Eurorack as your standard? There are many formats available, and each has advantages (and arguably some disadvantages). The Eurorack format has been criticized for being small and crowded, but that could also be seen as compact.

Also why did you choose the A-120?

If you didn't have the Plan B VCO, what other VCOs would you consider? I'm not suggesting one because I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve with your modular, other than interesting sounds.

[frozenkore]

Thanks for the replies! I started looking into the Plan B issues and that kind of scares me. I see where you're both coming from. I do have a Module 11 Evil Twin on it's way (and it is on it's way, I didn't buy it from them) that hasn't been used. It is unfortunate that Plan B is having issues, from what I have heard of their modules, they are very intriguing.

As far as why I picked the Eurorack format is because of space primarily. As you had mentioned, it is compact. Eventually I will probably build something in a different format when I move out of where I'm staying, but until then, space is key. Plus, they have the polivox and malgorithm (though I have not included the latter in my current build).

Other VCOs. I really was looking at the Livewire AFG. The thing holding me back there was that it takes up a lot of space. I wanted to make sure I had enough room for utility modules. The Tiptop z3000 and Analogue Systems r95e also looked interesting.

I am definitely up for suggestions in filters, VCOs, and utilities. The A-120 was more along the lines of "I don't know what other filter I should use so I'll stick with the standard." I am completely flexible. The only thing I have is the A-138 Logarithmic Mixer, the A-131 Logarithmic VCA, and the Model 11.

As far as what I'm trying to do. I like industrial, hardcore trance, dark electro, and stuff like that. I want to make noise, make cool bass leads, weird noises, and just really creative sounds that you can't make anywhere else.

Not sure if that helps give you an idea or not, but thanks. I look at some more options to remove some of the Plan B stuff (so I don't have to deal with what others are unfortunately dealing with).

Cheers!
Frozenkore

[frozenkore]

Well, I've made changes. Being leery of the Plan B modules, I removed a few. However, I already have a Model 11 and Model 28 in the mail so I'm going to keep those. Plus I really like the ELF LFO because of it's size and the multiples fit. So if I can find them not through Plan B themselves (I know that's not the name of the company but it's easier to type).

The plan is for this to be expanded so I wanted to make sure I nailed out the components I really am interested in and if I'm missing a few utilities, I can add them later. This goes for some of the other fun modules.

I dropped exchanged both VOCs for a TipTop z3000 and AS r95e (the picture shows it without the fine tuning knob). This is a slightly cheaper setup but still should give interesting results.

I decided to keep the Dalek Modulator instead of the A-114 and I added the A-118 & Dual Bissel Generator to replace the Model 24.

Moving the tap clock up, and dropping the A-120 (You're right, there are better modules out there that are more interesting), I was able to get in a Wizard Boogie Filter and a Plague Bearer.

I do not have an A-115 (Audio Divider), the A-116 (Waveshaper), or the A-136. Other than that, this seems to be a good variation of the Doepfer "Basic System 1" in some fashion or another.

So the question is, do I swap out the Plague Bearer for either the A-115 or A-136? It seems like that Plague Bearer is similar to the A-136 (not completely). Am I really missing anything without having the A-115, A-116, or A-136? I can always expand those later so I guess the question is which might be more beneficial?

Thanks again all for the help.
Cheers

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[sonicwarrior]

[frozenkore]

Thanks for the reply.

You're right about the 3.5 filters, I was looking at it later and realized that was bit overkill and decided to tone it back down to two for now (Polivoks and Evil Twin). When I move to a larger system, I'll add in that Boogie filter, I don't need it right now.

For the Analogue Systems, you mean the faceplate is actually larger? So though they are saying on the site that the r95e is 12HP it's actually larger (by a small amount). That's not good . I was actually looking forward to that module as it tracks so well. On that note, hypothetically, were I to have one complete rack of AS modules, would they not fit because they are all slightly too big?

Unfortunately the Module 28 is one of the few I have, so I'll have to make use of it.

As far as LFOs go, they do look really small, but on the other they don't take up much room. Do you have a a recommendation? I was looking at an A-143-3 for the sake of having four in one. At least in the long run, I wouldn't need to worry about LFOs until the system got significantly larger. Still though, if you have any suggestions, I would be most interested.

Rack wise, I got a good deal on a bare subrack and can get more for the same price (1/4 the cost of an actual Doepfer rack). The only thing is I have to provide my own power supply and distribution board. I bought two CGS distribution PCBs (which were like $7.50 US each) and I have a couple power supplies that I can use. So other than some minor wiring to get a switch and some mounting, I have pretty cheep racks (6U). Don't worry though, I will be expanding .

If I swap out the r95e, the boogie, and the plague, what would you recommend? I can replace the ELF LFOs with the A-143-3, but is there anything in particular I could use?

Thanks again!

[sonicwarrior]

[Per]

It looks nice, the setup. I would advice you to get the A-149-2 digital random voltage expansion to the A-149-1. It is a cheap and useful module.
A dual ring modulator is a good tool. If you have the money, the Cwejman D-LFO has a lot of power in small space: LFO, random, sync and ring /AM modulation.
The Doepfer polarized linear mixer is very handy. It can both process audio and voltage, act as a attenuator or a CV processor as it deliver + - 5V from channel 1 when no plug is in the jack.
Per